Iron Curtain

Meanings

1. The dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War (1947–1991).

1. A barrier made of iron in a theatre, lowered between the stage and the auditorium for safety or to prevent communication.
2. Any impenetrable barrier.

Etymology

A specialized use of iron curtain (“(figurative) impenetrable barrier”), probably partly a calque of German eiserner Vorhang which was used in speeches in the 1940s that were translated into English. The English term appeared in telegrams from the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874–1965) to the United States President Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) in 1945, before being popularized in a speech given by Churchill at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, on March 5, 1946.